THIS IS THE CURRENT JURY SELECTION - IT IS SUBJECT TO CONSTANT REVISION! THIS LIST IS IN ALPHA ORDER, AND IT SHOWS ONLY TITLE, DIRECTOR AND THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN. THIS LIST WILL BE AMENDED DAILY. SHORT FILMS ARE LISTED AFTER THE FEATURES. THIS LIST DOES NOT SHOW THE SCREENING TIMES OF THE FILMS! WE WILL POST SHOW TIMES IN A FEW DAYS. WE DO EXPECT TO FINALIZE THE SELECTIONS BY 16 MARCH. WE WILL POST THE DAY/DATE/TIME SCHEDULE THIS WEEK FOR FEATURES, NEXT WEEK FOR SHORT FILMS & VIDEOS!

14 WORLD PREMIERES - (LISTED BY: TITLE - DIRECTOR - COUNTRY):

11 MINUTES AGO - BOB GEBERT - CALIFORNIA
20,000 MILES ON A HORSE - TOM JENNINGS - CALIFORNIA
EINSTEIN'S GREATEST MISTAKE - BRANKO KARABATIC - CROATIA
GRADUATION - MICHAEL MAYER - CALIFORNIA
HIGH WATER BLUES - ALAN MENDEHLSON - CANADA
HOUSE OF DREAMS - SHAWN WELLING - TEXAS
KING OF BEGGARS - URI PASTER - LITHUANIA / ISRAEL
ONE LONG NIGHT - DAVID SIQUEIROS - USA / MEXICO - OPENING NIGHT FILM
RETURN WITH HONOR - MICHAEL AMUNDSEN - USA
SAIGON ECLIPSE - OTHELLO KHANH - VIETNAM
SHAKESPEARE'S RICHARD III - SCOTT ANDERSON - CALIFORNIA
SOMETHING BENEATH - DAVID WINNING - CANADA
THE WAITER - JASON KONOPISOS - TEXAS
THE WHISPERERS - RAJEEV MAROJ VIRANI - INDIA / USA

NORTH AMERICAN, USA & REGIONAL PREMIERES:

5 UP 2 DOWN - STEVEN KESSLER - NEW YORK
AMOUR LEGENDE - MI-SEN WU - TAIWAN, ROC
AURORE - LUC DIONNE - CANADA
BEN'S BIOGRAPHY - DAN WOLMAN - ISRAEL
BOLLY DOUBLE - ARUN BHARALI - CANADA
CHOSYU FIVE - SHO IGARASHI - JAPAN
CHILDREN OF THE MOON - (MONDSCHEIN KINDER) - MANUELA STACKE - GERMANY
THE COLLECTOR - FELIKS FALK - POLAND
CRIME & PUNISHMENT - MENACHEM GOLAN - RUSSIA
THE DUKES - ROBERT DAVI - CALIFORNIA - CLOSING NIGHT FILM
EYE OF THE DOLPHIN - MICHAEL SELLERS - CALIFORNIA
FERN HILL - COLE CLAASSEN - CALIFORNIA
FRANK - DOUGLAS CHENEY - CALIFORNIA
FRENCH FOR BEGINNERS - CHRISTIAN DITLER - GERMANY
THE GARAGE - CARL THIBAULT - CALIFORNIA
GREYFRIARS BOBBY - JOHN HENDERSON - SCOTLAND
HOLLYWOOD DREAMS - HENRY JAGLOM - CALIFORNIA
HUNTING FOR ENGLISHMEN - BERTALAN BAGO - HUNGARY
THE INEVITABLE UNDOING OF JAY BROOKS - JENNIFER SHARP - CALIFORNIA
INFINITE JUSTICE - JAMIL DEHLAVI - ENGLAND UK
THE JAMMED - DEE MCLACHLAN - AUSTRALIA
JUST SEX & NOTHING ELSE - KRYSZTINA GODA - HUNGARY
KING OF THE BEGGARS - URI PASTER - LITHUANIA / GREECE
KOKODA - ALISTER GRIERSON - AUSTRALIA
LABOUR EQUALS FREEDOM - DAMJAN KOZOLE - SLOVENIA
THE LITTLE THINGS - STEPHEN PADILLA - NEW YORK
LOSERS AND WINNERS - ULRIKE FRANKE / MICHAEL LOEKEN - GERMANY
MEXICAN SUNRISE - ROWDY STOVALL - TEXAS
PANDORA - GEORGE STAMBOULOPOULOS - GREECE
PYAAR KE - SIDE/EFFECTS - SAKET CHAUDHARY - INDIA
RARE BIRD - LUCINDA SPURLING - BERMUDA
STEEL TOES - DAVID GOW / MARK ADAM - CANADA
SUNDAY IN KIGALI - ROBERT FAVREAU - CANADA
TRUTH BE TOLLED - WILLIAM MOLINAS - TEXAS
URANYA - COSTAS KAPAKAS - GREECE
VANAJA - RAJNESH DOMALPALLI - INDIA
VINETA: THE SECRET PROJECT - FRANZISKA STÜNKEL - GERMANY
WHOLETRAIN - FLORIAN GAGG - GERMANY
THE WONDER OF IT ALL - JEFFREY ROTH - CALIFORNIA

PANORAMA ITALIA - WORLDFEST HONORS ITALY FOR 2007
ALLA LUCE DEL SOLE - director - ROBERTO FAENZA
THE BICYCLE THIEF - (Ladri di biciclette) 1948 - director - VITTORIO De SICA
DOPPO MEZZANOTTE - director - DAVIDE FERRARIO
LA FEBBRE - director - ALESSANDRO D'ALATRI
IL POSTO - director - ERMANNO OLMI
FLOWERS OF ST. FRANCIS - director - ROBERTO ROSSILLINI

SHORT FILM PREMIERES - DIGITAL & 35MM:

3 IN 34 - JAE SONG - NEW YORK
A KISS ON THE NOSE - LAURA NERI - CALIFORNIA
AU SUIVANT - DOUGLAS BENSADOUN - CANADA
BY CHARLIE WALKER - PRIYA RAO - CANADA
THE COW THIEF - CHARLES WILLIAMS - AUSTRALIA
THE CLAP - KIM JACOBS - ENGLAND UK
CIRCLE - MAGYAR FILM - HUNGARY
THE DANCE OF COURTSHIP - MEHRUNNISA HASSAN - KENTUCKY
THE DANISH POET - NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA - CANADA
DARTSVILLE - TONY WEST - CALIFORNIA
DEATH IN VEGAS - RAMZEY TELLEY - TEXAS
DISCONNECTED - CHEOL-WU PARK - CALIFORNIA
DISTANT MEMORY (MARIES LACHELN) - MICHAEL SHAFER - GERMANY
A DYING FALL - ROBERT WILLIAM WILSON - CANADA
EL CANTO DEL GRILLO - FRANC PLANAS - SPAIN
EL HOYO - CARLOS CEASERO RUIZ - SPAIN
EL INTRUSO - DAVID CANOVAS - SPAIN
EL VIAJE DE SAID - ISABEL GUERRERO - SPAIN
EMPTY ROOM - SHIELA PYE - CANADA
ENERGY - TINA OLIVARES - SPAIN
EVERYTHING WILL BE OK - DON HERTZFELDT - CALIFORNIA
EVOL - CHRIS BINCZE - ENGLAND UK
FACE MACHINE - JUSTIN SIMMS - CANADA
FIVE DOORS - CARL KNUTSON - CANADA
GREETINGS FROM EARTH - KIM JACOBS - CALIFORNIA
GUIDE DOG - BILL PLYMPTON - NEW YORK
HAJIME - KENSHIN NAWA - JAPAN
THE HIGHER CALLING OF MARTY PIMLOTT - JAMES VILLEMAIRE - NEW YORK
HOUSE OF THE OLIVE TREES - THOULY DOSIOS - GREECE
HURRICANE ON THE BAYOU - MACGILLIVRAY- FREEMAN FILMS - CALIFORNIA
IN BETWEEN - JOSE E. INGLESIAS VIGIL - POLAND
IOWA STORIES - FRANCESCO PALADINO - ITALY
KOONIKLASTER - MARIKO SAGA - POLAND
LA PRIMAVERA - RUBEN OBREGON CASAS - CALIFORNIA
LA ULTIMA PAGINA - CESAR RODRIGUEZ-MOROY - SPAIN
LE REVEIL - VERONIQUE LEVOIE-MARCUS - CANADA
LILY - HIROSHI NAKAJIMA - CALIFORNIA
LOOK BOTH WAYS - DANIEL ORON - CANADA
MCLAREN'S NEGATIVES - MARIE-JOSEE SAINT-PIERRE - CANADA
MOURNFUL THINGS - JOSEPH SULPIZI - CANADA
NEVER LOSE SIGHT OF FREEDOM - TOM RADFORD - WEST VIRGINIA
NO ONE LOVES YOU AS I DO (NEIMAND LIEBT DICH S0 WIE ICH) - LUCA ZAMAI & OLIVIER KAYSER - GERMANY
NOIR TOTAL - FRANCOIS JAMIN - FRANCE
ON THE EDGE - LUBO VILUDA & IVAN KRSIAK - SLOVAKIA
PORTABLE LIVING ROOM - RANSOM RIGGS - CALIFORNIA
THE PRINCESS TURNED INTO A FROG - ROBERT TURLO - POLAND
RAZOR SHARP - MARCUS PERRY - CALIFORNIA
REGARDING SARAH - M PORTER & AMY BELLING - CANADA
ROSE - HOKU UCHIYAMA - CALIFORNIA
THE SAD STORY OF KNAVE - ANNE LARRICQ - FRANCE
SAVING SAM - SCOTT WILLIAM ALVAREZ - CALIFORNIA
THE SCARLET LETTERS - JEFFREY RUBIN - VIRGINIA
SCREENING - ANTHONY GREEN - CANADA
SINGLE BED - GEORGE KOUVARAS - GREECE
SKINHEADS - MICHAEL VASS - CANADA
SOMEWHERE IN THE CITY - RAMSEY DENISON - CALIFORNIA
SOONER OR LATER - Magyar Filmunió - HUNGARY
SPOONFED - MARIE HORODYSKI - CANADA
STELLA - ANKE HENTSCHEL - GERMANY
STILL LIFE - MAHESH PAILOOR - CALIFORNIA
THE SUNDAY MAN - DANIELLE SHAMASH - CALIFORNIA
TORSIA - JAKSA BORIC - CROATIA
TYTTONEN (THE YOUNG GIRL) - FABIAN GIESSLER - FINLAND/GERMANY
TZARITZA - NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA - CANADA
THE WANNABE - ALTHEA WASOW - NEW YORK
WAVES. DAY RETURN - MACIES PISAREK - POLAND
WHO GUARDS THE GUARDIANS - GORAN STANKOVIC - SERBIA
WISHING IN THE PARK - SAM SMALL - ENGLAND UK

(This is the FINAL Short Film list as of 11:30pm CDST, Friday, April 06. It is updated on a regular basis - as the results from the WorldFest Selection Committees come in. We are contacting both Short & Feature filmmakers via email over the next few days. Please check the list regularly for updates! We have now posted the Day/Date/Time Screening Schedule and we are posting clips and trailers on all selected films at this time. Our sincere congratulations to the listed filmmakers. More than 500 Intl Features and 1,500 Intl Shorts were entered in the 2007 Remi Competition! Please note: we hope to have jury results on all other competition categories during the week of April 9 and will post all the nominees in all other categories on this website. You do not have to be screened to win a Remi Award!)

For immediate release: 12 MARCH 2007…NEWS…NEWS…NEWS…NEWS!
For more info: Contact ~ Kathleen Haney, Program Director (713) 965-9955

40th WORLDFEST-HOUSTON SETS PREMIERES & THEATRES!

“FORGET SUNDANCE! …WorldFest is one of the best conceived festival productions on the planet!” ~ Craig Outhier, film critic, Phoenix press; Tempe Times.

The 40th Annual WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival continues its totally dedicated Independent Film screening format for the upcoming April 20-29, 2007 unspooling. WorldFest will screen just 56 feature film premieres, with a total and complete emphasis on the American and International Independent Feature films and with a continuing annual spotlight on 96 award-winning Intl. Short films and Documentary films. For the 40th WorldFest, all screenings will be at the AMC Studio 30 at Dunvale.
Complete Film schedule and ticket information are now on our WorldFest website (http://www.worldfest.org)
This year WorldFest is streaming all of its Short Film winners, and trailers of all Feature Films on its website - www.worldfest.org. Anyone can visit our website and click on the Short or Feature Film that they want to view, and it will stream via the very high band-width of WorldFest… Some of the WorldFest Remi Award Winners from the past festival have now been viewed by more than 135,000 people all over the world.



For its 40th festival WorldFest is presenting 14 World Premieres;
11 MINUTES AGO - BOB GEBERT - CALIFORNIA
20,000 MILES ON A HORSE - TOM JENNINGS - CALIFORNIA
EINSTEIN'S GREATEST MISTAKE - BRANKO KARABATIC - CROATIA
HIGH WATER BLUES - ALAN MENDEHLSON - CANADA
HOUSE OF DREAMS - SHAWN WELLING - TEXAS
KING OF BEGGARS - URI PASTER - LITHUANIA / ISRAEL
MEXICAN SUNRISE - ROWDY STOVALL - TEXAS
ONE LONG NIGHT - DAVID SIQUEIROS - USA / MEXICO - OPENING NIGHT PREMIERE
RETURN WITH HONOR - MICHAEL AMUNDSEN - USA
SAIGON ECLIPSE - OTHELLO KHANH - VIETNAM
SHAKESPEARE'S RICHARD III - SCOTT ANDERSON - CALIFORNIA
SOMETHING BENEATH - DAVID WINNING - CANADA
THE WAITER - JASON KONOPISOS – TEXAS

In addition, WorldFest is premiering 42 additional feature films and 96 Short Films, including many with Houston and Texas connections;
5 UP 2 DOWN - STEVEN KESSLER - NEW YORK
AMOUR LEGENDE - MI-SEN WU - TAIWAN, ROC
AURORE - LUC DIONNE - CANADA
BEN'S BIOGRAPHY - DAN WOLMAN - ISRAEL
CHOSYU FIVE - SHO IGARASHI - JAPAN
CHILDREN OF THE MOON - (MONDSCHEIN KINDER) - MANUELA STACKE - GERMANY
THE COLLECTOR - FELIKS FALK - POLAND
CRIME & PUNISHMENT - MENACHEM GOLAN - RUSSIA
EYE OF THE DOLPHIN - MICHAEL SELLERS - CALIFORNIA
FERN HILL - COLE CLAASSEN - CALIFORNIA
FRANK - DOUGLAS CHENEY - CALIFORNIA
FRENCH FOR BEGINNERS - CHRISTIAN DITLER - GERMANY
THE GARAGE - CARL THIBAULT - CALIFORNIA
GRADUATION - MICHAEL MAYER - CALIFORNIA
GREYFRIARS BOBBY - JOHN HENDERSON - SCOTLAND
HOLLYWOOD DREAMS - HENRY JAGLOM - CALIFORNIA
HUNTING FOR ENGLISHMEN - BERTALAN BAGO - HUNGARY
THE INEVITABLE UNDOING OF JAY BROOKS - JENNIFER SHARP - CALIFORNIA
INFINITE JUSTICE - JAMIL DEHLAVI - ENGLAND UK
THE JAMMED - DEE MCLACHLAN - AUSTRALIA
JUST SEX & NOTHING ELSE - KRYSZTINA GODA - HUNGARY
KOKODA - ALISTER GRIERSON - AUSTRALIA
THE LITTLE THINGS - STEPHEN PADILLA - NEW YORK
LOSERS AND WINNERS - ULRIKE FRANKE / MICHAEL LOEKEN - GERMANY
PYAAR KE - SIDE/EFFECTS - SAKET CHAUDHARY - INDIA
RARE BIRD - LUCINDA SPURLING - BERMUDA
STEEL TOES - DAVID GOW / MARK ADAM - CALIFORNIA
SUNDAY IN KIGALI - ROBERT FAVREAU - CANADA
VANAJA - RAJNESH DOMALPALLI - INDIA
VINETA: THE SECRET PROJECT - FRANZISKA STÜNKEL - GERMANY
WHOLETRAIN - FLORIAN GAGG - GERMANY
THE WONDER OF IT ALL - JEFFREY ROTH – CALIFORNIA

For its 40th Festival, WorldFest is honoring Italy, with an exciting survey of new films from Italy, along with their directors, in person. These films include;
PANORAMA ITALIA - WORLDFEST HONORS ITALY FOR 2007
ALLA LUCE DEL SOLE - director - ROBERTO FAENZA
DOPPO MEZZANOTTE - director - DAVIDE FERRARIO
IL REGISTA DI MATRIMONI - director - MARCO BELLOCCHIO
LA FEBBRE - director - ALESSANDRO D'ALATRI

WorldFest Artistic and Program Director, Kathleen Haney, said, “We continue our focus on a quality selection of individual films to maintain a smaller, yet effective program rather than an overly large and unwieldy slate of 150-300 films shown in too many venues. In consideration of both our festival audiences and the independent filmmakers, we feel that a solid high-quality program of no more than 60 features is optimum in a ten-day festival with nine screening slots (on three theater screens) per day.” Haney continued, “We are looking for ‘A good story, well told’ as our classic approach to film selection. We have special sidebars of Foreign, Children’s and Family Film Sections plus Remi Award winning Documentaries. All of our films are totally Indie productions, and each film is well represented by their filmmakers, who attend to personally introduce their films!”

WorldFest will continue with its annual Short Film Showcase, a very special review of 96 new short and student films...from the festival that gave first honors to Spielberg, Lucas, Oliver Stone, Ang Lee, and David Lynch, among many others! No other festival has such a “discovery” track record. WorldFest has emerged as the oldest film festival management in the world with the same director, continuously for 38 consecutive years. A few other festivals are older, but they have had as many as ten different directors.
Most USA film festivals today have evolved into publicity platforms for major studio distributors. WorldFest showcases the true independent film, offering a fiercely dedicated special venue for directors searching for an independent forum for their works. WorldFest continues with a focused emphasis on new, premiering films that are seeking a distributor. The Festival also screens DVD video via the Barco R20 Digital DLP Projection and Wagner Media, major sponsors of the festival, in addition to 35mm film.

WorldFest-Houston is presented by - The Houston Film Society, HP, Eastman Kodak, The Houston Chronicle, Chron.com, Boxer Properties, TV5 France, The Houston Arts Alliance, The National Endowment for The Arts, Texas Commission for the Arts, Media A Team, Pillar Bluff Winery, The Houston Film Commission, The Renaissance & Marriott Hotels, NASA, Space Center-Houston, Houston Yacht Club, The Wellness Center, Wagner Media, The Homestead Resort and many others.

The 108-page WorldFest program book is distributed to every major film festival in the world and to every known major distributor in the world. This detailed film catalogue has become an invaluable reference document for film acquisition and film review.

WorldFest traces its actual beginnings to August 1961, when it began screening foreign & art films as Cinema Arts, an international film society. It became a competitive international film festival seven years later, in April 1968, and has been in continuous operation ever since. It is one of the original three film festivals in North America, with San Francisco and New York as the first two venues. Now there are over 800 USA film festivals of various levels and quality, most being non-competitive screening events! It is perhaps the longest-running film festival in the world operating under the same director.

The 40th Annual WorldFest also offers international competition in 12 major categories, including TV production, TV commercials, unproduced Screenplays & Teleplays, Experimental, Student, Documentary, Business & Industry, New Media and Music Videos. WorldFest is the largest film & video competition in the world, with more than 4,300 total category entries received in 2007. There are almost 200 sub-categories for competition, allowing each film to compete in its own genre.

For more information on the 40th Annual 2007 WorldFest-Houston,
Call: 1-713-965-9955 or fax: 1-713-965-9960 or email: info@worldfest.org
The complete Info kit with ticket purchase forms is on our website: www.worldfest.org
“Before there was Sundance, Toronto or SXSW, there was WorldFest!”

======================================

OLD NEWS RELEASES FROM LAST YEARS...
For Immediate Release – 1 May 2006 – NEWS – NEWS – NEWS
For further info: 713-965-9955 or mail@worldfest.org

Grand Finale of 2006 WorldFest-Houston
(The 39th Annual WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival)

WorldFest-Houston, the 3rd oldest film festival in North America, celebrated the conclusion of its 39th annual independent film showcase with a Grand Awards Gala on April 29th & Closing Day April 30th with a VIP NASA and Space Center Houston tour and Texas BBQ sponsored by The Houston Yacht Club. All events are open to the public.

WorldFest, founded as an Int’l Film Society in August 1961, became the third competitive international film festival in North America, following San Francisco and New York. WorldFest evolved into a competitive Int’l. Film Festival in April 1968 and has a long list of “discovered” film greats such as Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ridley Scott, David Lynch, Ridley Scott, Oliver Stone, Atom Egoyan, Randall Kleiser, Ang Lee, Robert Rodriguez, the Coen Brothers and many others from their beginning efforts with submissions early in their careers. Multi award-winning producer/director, Hunter Todd, founded this Int’l. film festival to honor all categories of film and video production continuing his long dedication of “Discovery” in spotlighting emerging Independent filmmakers, “the Spielbergs & Ang Lees of tomorrow.”

WorldFest’s mission is to recognize and honor outstanding creative excellence in film & video, validate brilliant abilities and promote future filmmaking in Texas as well as enhance cultural tourism for Houston. The 10-day film festival ran to a smooth finish with several sold-out full houses, 14 being Houston and Texas productions. Directors, producers and actors representing their premiering films flew in from all over the globe such as: Nicole van Kilsdonk (Johan) Romantic comedy, Holland; Fernando Kalife (7 Days) Mexico; Piero Sanna (La Destinazione) Italy; Renos Haramlambidis (The Heart of the Beast) Greece; Layia Giourgou (Liubi) Greece; Norman Stone (Kerrigan’s Passion ~ Man Dancin’) UK; Christopher Buchholz (Horst Buchholz…mein Papa) Germany, Branko Ivanda (The Horseman) Croatia, Valery Ogorodnikov (Red Sky. Black Snow) Russia; Sergej Stanojkovski (Kontakt) Macedonia; Darko Mitrevski (Bal-Can-Can) Macedonia; Rob Rombout (Amsterdam via Amsterdam) Holland and Deepa Mehta (Water) Canada plus hundreds of others from the International Short Film competition.

All film premieres were screened at the Flagship AMC Studio 30 Theatres, a third year WorldFest-Houston Cinema partner. Other major VIP Partner/Sponsors of WorldFest include Hewlett Packard, Eastman Kodak, Microsoft, The Marriott Hotels, The City of Houston, The State of Texas, The NEA, The Cultural Arts Council of Houston, The Houston Chronicle, Budget Rent a Car, Wagner Media, NASA/Space Center Houston 247Show.com and The Houston Yacht Club.

The Awards Gala on Saturday, April 29th was held in the Greenway Ballroom of The Renaissance Hotel, VIP partner and official host hotel for the 39th annual WorldFest. The festivities began with a cocktail reception hosted by The Houston Film Commission. Four-time World Champion Bagpipe Band from St. Thomas Episcopal School in Houston, launched the awards segment by piping in festival founder, Hunter Todd, leading the parade with a bevy of beautiful Page Parkes models, presenters of the plaques to the winning filmmakers. Local celebrity and news anchor, Bob Beaudreault was Master of Ceremonies. Dance entertainment was presented by MECA Folkloric Dance Troupe of Houston followed by the Champion Scottish Highland dancer, Pillar McKay with a grand finale and a standing ovation for Shawn Welling’s Planet Funk Academy’s premiere dancers who performed a high-energy dance mix created especially for the gala.

Top honoree of the evening was Deepa Mehta (Fire, Earth, and Water) awarded the WorldFest 2006 Career Achievement Award for her superlative work in expressing the voice of a new India through film. The Award Gala was the hot item in Houston that night with over 450 US and International filmmakers from over 30 nations here to personally accept their well-deserved Remi Awards. Of note were Robert Campbell (Arizona Highways photog), Joe Estevez, Buck Taylor (Truce), Jeffrey Wells (Hollywood Elsewhere), Consuls Maggipinto (Italy); Gavai (India) and Mikhailov (Russia) to enjoy the festivities. Also on hand were producers Andrew Deane of Industry Entertainment, Jon Scheide, LA director/ writer both from Hollywood and Stuart Strutin of Panorama Entertainment from Pt. Chester, NY all jetting in to present their annual hard-hitting but very well received WorldFest Production Seminars. Everyone was invited to enjoy the Asian-Fusion-inspired menu of The Renaissance Hotel’s own Executive Chef ~ the ever exuberant Todd Haggerton!

The Indie Directors Panel featured Nicole van Kilsdonk (Johan), Zhenya Kiperman (I Will Avenge You Iago!), Letia Miller (Into the Dark) Shira-Lee Shalit (A-List), Tom Anton (…At Last) moderated by (David Winning (Andromeda, Stargate:Atlantis) the prolific Canadian filmmaker and past WorldFest multiple award-winner.

WorldFest 2006 Grand Awards are: BEST THEATRICAL FEATURE to Nicole van Kilsdonk, Edgmond Film, The Netherlands; BEST FILM & VIDEO to Bill Haney for, A Life Among The Whales, Uncommon Productions, Inc USA; BEST TV & CABLE PRODUCTION, Plague City: SARS in Toronto, SWE / Plague City Productions, CANADA; BEST NEW MEDIA to The Encyclopedia of Personal Finance/NBR by NBR Enterprises/WPBT Miami, USA; BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM & VIDEO to Facechasers by Matt Parker, LaSalle Holland, USA; BEST SHORT SUBJECT to Blue, Ryotaro Muramatsu, Naked, Inc, JAPAN; BEST TV COMMERCIAL to Timelord, by Brooke Jones, Bearcage Productions, AUSTRALIA; and BEST STUDENT FILM to El Gusano (The Worm) by Christopher Rutter, USA, and BEST MUSIC VIDEO to Strays Don’t Sleep for their album Strays Don’t Sleep – featuring Love Don’t Owe You Anything, USA, who played at the Awards Gala by special invitation. Opening Night Film, Lorraine Senna’s Paradise, Texas, starring Timothy Bottoms, Meridith Baxter and Polly Bergen received a Remi Gold in the Feature Film Family category. All other award results from this year’s WorldFest competition are posted on our website at www.worldfest.org – There were more than 4,500 category entries in all film and video competitions, and around 15% of the entries won awards.

Wonderful Closing Day Festivities included a special VIP tour of NASA & Space Center Houston with a Regatta & Texas BBQ & Mariachi party hosted by The Houston Yacht Club. Final event was back at the AMC cinema for the Closing night film, Johan, which was awarded the Grand Remi Award BEST of SHOW feature film directed by Nicole van Kilsdonk, in from The Netherlands to accept her Remi Statuette.

Over 550 filmmakers from more than 33 nations around the world were in attendance to personally accept their various awards from this year’s WorldFest’s competition of thousands of submitted category entries. Dates for WorldFest-Houston #40 are April 20-April 29, 2007. Please check our website at - www.worldfest.org - for the full winners’ list or call 713-965-9955 for more information. “Call for Entries” for next year’s event will be mailed out in late September. Entries officially open August 15th, 2006. Main deadline is December 15, 2006. You may download official entry forms from our Internet website starting August 1st. We are now streaming particular Remi Award winners on our website!
WorldFest-Houston, PO Box 56566, Houston, Texas 77256-6566
713-965-9955 www.worldfest.org mail@worldfest.org

For immediate release: 22 MARCH 2006 …NEWS…NEWS…NEWS…NEWS!
For more info: Contact ~ Kathleen Haney, Program Director (713) 965-9955

39th WORLDFEST-HOUSTON SETS the 2006 PREMIERES & SCHEDULE! OFFICIAL THEATER IS THE AMC STUDIO 30 AT DUNVALE!

“ FORGET SUNDANCE! …WorldFest is one of the best conceived festival productions on the planet!” ~ Craig Outhier, film critic, Phoenix press; Tempe Times.

The 39th Annual WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival continues its totally dedicated Independent Film screening format for the upcoming April 21-30, 2006 unspooling at the AMC Studio 30 at Dunvale - located between Richmond and Westheimer. WorldFest will screen just 56 feature film premieres, with a total and absolute emphasis on the American and International Independent feature films and with a continuing annual spotlight on 96 award-winning short films and documentary films. Complete Film schedule and ticket information are now on our WorldFest website (http://www.worldfest.org)

This year WorldFest is streaming its Short Film winners, and trailers of all Feature Films via a partnership with www.247Show.com. Anyone can visit our website and click on the Short or Feature they want to view, and it will stream via the very high band-width of 247Show.com … Anyone can read and post comments on the films and the top entries will win cash prizes based on total votes received. WorldFest-Houston is the first and only international film festival offering a program like this. Some of the WorldFest Remi Award Winners have been viewed by more than 15,000 people all over the world.

The Opening Night World Premiere for WorldFest is Paradise, Texas starring Timothy Bottoms, Meredith Baxter, Polly Bergen, and 1st time Houston actor, Ben Estus. They are all expected to attend. This year the festival is premiering a total of 12 Houston-connected films, including both Shorts and Features. Other Houston connected films include A-List - Shira-Lee & Damon Shalit, ELCX-Planet Funk - Shawn Welling, Boy Next Door - Travis Davis, Into The Wind - Chris Page, Jack Everyman - Larry Czach, Miles To Surf - James Fulbright, The Fax - Matthew Kowalski, Be Bop Babies - Gail Reaben, Thumb POW - Joey Clark, Half Empty - Robert Peters, Common Practice - Marcos Efron.

WorldFest Artistic and Program Director, Kathleen Haney, said, “We are continuing our focus on a quality selection of individual films to maintain a smaller, yet effective program rather than an overly large and unwieldy slate of 150-300 films. In consideration of both our festival audiences and the independent filmmakers, we feel that a solid high-quality program of no more than 60 features is optimum in a ten-day festival with nine screening slots (on three theater screens) per day.” Haney continued, “We are looking for ‘A good story, well told’ as our time-tested approach to film selection. We have special sidebars of Foreign, Children’s and Family Film Sections plus Remi Award winning Documentaries. All of our films are totally Indie productions, and each film is well represented by their filmmakers, who attend to personally introduce their films!”

WorldFest will continue with its annual Short Film Showcase, a very special review of 96 new short and student films...from the festival that gave first honors to Spielberg, Lucas, Oliver Stone, Ang Lee, and David Lynch, among many others! No other festival has such a “discovery” track record. WorldFest has emerged as the oldest film festival management in the world with the same director, continuously for 38 consecutive years. A few other festivals are older, but they have had as many as ten different directors. Most USA film festivals today have evolved into publicity platforms for major studio distributors. WorldFest showcases the true independent film, offering a fiercely dedicated special venue for directors searching for an independent forum for their works. WorldFest continues with a focused emphasis on new, premiering films that are seeking a distributor. The Festival also screens DVD video via the Barco R20 Digital DLP Projection and Wagner Media, major sponsors of the festival, in addition to 35mm film.

WorldFest-Houston is presented by - The Houston Film Society, HP, Eastman Kodak, The Houston Chronicle, AMC Theatres, TV5 France, CACHH (The Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris County), The National Endowment for The Arts, Texas Commission for the Arts, Media A Team, 247Show.com, Becker Vineyards, The Houston Film Commission, The Renaissance & Marriott Hotels, NASA, Space Center-Houston, Houston Yacht Club, The Wellness Center, Wagner Media, The Homestead Resort and many others.
The 108-page WorldFest program book is distributed to every major film festival in the world and to every known major distributor in the world. This detailed film catalogue has become an invaluable reference document for film acquisition and film review.

WorldFest traces its actual beginnings to August 1961, when it began screening foreign & art films as Cinema Arts, an international film society. It became a competitive international film festival seven years later, in April 1968, and has been in continuous operation ever since. It is one of the original three film festivals in North America, with San Francisco and New York as the first two venues. Now there are over 600 USA film festivals of various levels and quality, most being non-competitive screening events!

The 39th Annual WorldFest also offers international competition in 12 major categories, including TV production, TV commercials, unproduced Screenplays & Teleplays, Experimental, Student, Documentary, Business & Industry, New Media and Music Videos. WorldFest is the largest film & video competition in the world, with more than 4,300 total category entries received in 2006. There are almost 200 sub-categories for competition, allowing each film to compete in its own genre.

For more information on the 39th Annual 2006 WorldFest-Houston,
Call: 1-713-965-9955 or fax: 1-713-965-9960 or email: info@worldfest.org
The complete Info kit with ticket purchase forms is on our website: http://www.worldfest.org

“Before there was Sundance, Tribeca , Toronto or SXSW, there was WorldFest!”

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38th Annual WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival
Advance Event Info!
The Initial Menu from WorldFest -

WorldFest-Houston Film Festival Announces our 38th Unspooling!
"Fiercely Independent"
Houston, Texas - March 2, 2005 "What's Cooking?!" at 2005 WORLDFEST-HOUSTON -
38 Years of Independent Films -
DATES: April 22 through May 1, 2005 -
LOCATION: AMC Meyer Park 16 Theatres - The HQ Renaissance Hotel -
ALL EVENTS ARE OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC

Each year WorldFest creates another delectable menu of film-fare from around the world for our local audiences! The 38th annual WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival will offer an appetizing array of Norwegian films to commemorate Norway's Centennial Year in a special "Tribute to Norway." The main course features 40-50 new International and Independent films as well as an assortment of film industry seminars and a Kodak workshop. WorldFest- Houston will also present 100 award-winning short film subjects as tasty desserts. WorldFest will screen approximately 50 feature films, with an absolute emphasis on American and International Independently made feature films.

A Tasty Film menu at the 38th WorldFest...
Have you tried the unusual Norwegian dish of "Prawns in Beer Jelly with Caviar and Crème Fraiche?" Prawns and beer jelly??? Don't knock it till you've tried it! The "Prawns in Beer Jelly" recipe can be found at - www.norway.org - under the "What's Cooking?" icon. To honor Norway's centennial year in 2005, WorldFest is pleased to join the Royal Norwegian Consulate General in presenting a delightful Commemorative Sidebar of Norwegian films. This list of intriguing Norwegian films includes "United" by Magnus Martens, "Hold My Heart" by Trygve Allister Diesen, "Coastal Life"" by Oyvind Sandberg, and "The Woman of My Life" by Alexander Eik with more Norwegian titles still under consideration. We will also present an assortment of Norwegian short films TBA.

WorldFest-Houston also considers the educational appetite, thus we offer a set of rotational film and video workshops covering Cinematography, Script Writing and Pitching, Distribution, Producing, Directing, Casting, Acting, Special Effects for the Indie Budget and Getting/Started in the Film/Television Industry. As a highlight to the seminar program, WorldFest will include a specialized Kodak workshop on cinematography and lighting for film and video for Indie filmmakers, along with a panel discussion presented by twelve leading directors and producers of independent film. Workshops are open to both professionals, film buffs and students for a fee. The Houston Film Society (the membership and supporting arm of WorldFest-Houston) helps fund scholarships for 200 outstanding students from the media arts, film and television programs of local high schools and colleges.

WorldFest-Houston Film Festival: A Good Story, Well Told!

For more than three and a half decades, WorldFest has offered cinematic fare to audiences with a taste for international flavor. As one of the oldest film festivals in the world, it was founded in August 1961 as an International Film Society. WorldFest evolved into a competitive International Film Festival in 1968, becoming the third competitive international film festival in North America, following San Francisco and New York. This organization has the distinct honor of having "discovered" film greats like Steven Spielberg, the Coen Brothers, Ang Lee, George Lucas, Ridley Scott plus many others with some of their first cinematic awards. WorldFest continues to present the true independent film and its filmmakers, offering a new venue for directors seeking to present their works without support of the major motion picture distributors. Through local community support, national collaboration, and international marketing, the visionary WorldFest has become a leading source of independent film and educational offerings.

Official Website: http://www.worldfest.org
(Final Jury decisions for all entry categories due in a few weeks!)

For those who desire an international cuisine in cinema, consider what's cooking for this year's WorldFest menu. Besides the delightful Norwegian smorgasborg, we offer an aromatic Asian "Rice Rhapsody", a tasty Czech dumpling named "Smart Philip", a Russian entree titled "Black Snow, Red Sky" and the Palestinian delight of "The Olive Harvest." Still in the mix for final consideration are some tasty German strudels, Japanese sushi, Asian Dim sum and some satisfying Hungarian goulash (titles TBA.) For some "down home" delectables, WorldFest will offer a Houston production that has a dash of Indian saffron, "Dancing in Twilight" with more titles as American as apple pie. "Top of the World," a delightful adventure for the entire family depicting a trek to Nepal and Mt. Everest has just been added to the program. Another intriguing feature for this year's program is "Checking Out," an off-beat comedy about how three adult children (Judge Reinhold, Laura San Giacomo, David Paymer) attempt to deflect their fathers' (Peter Falk) determined intention to kill himself. "Chrystal" is another USA independent film which deals with a tragic automobile accident and how a husband (Billy Bob Thornton) must come to terms with his wife's strange long term effects from it. "Confronting Iraq" is an insightful documentary about the truth of the differing factions in the USA and throughout the globe in regards to the war against terrorism. "Vakuum" is a science-fi feature which explores the near future through the filter of a German post-bionic dystopia. WorldFest is dedicated to using the best, freshest and most natural ingredients available and is a non- profit educational and cultural organization. Our goal is to recognize and honor outstanding creative excellence in film and video, validate brilliant abilities, promote cultural tourism for Houston, develop film production in the region, and add to the rich culture of cinema. All screenings are open to the public, most 35mm features will be screened twice and the festival theater is conveniently located at the AMC 16 Meyer Park Cinema in Southwest Houston just of 610 South Loop and Post Oak at West Bellfort. Festival tickets start at $6.00, 20% discounts available on Festival Passes for current Houston Film Society Members. To become an HFS member and receive sneak preview passes throughout the year, please check our website at www.worldfest.org - Check our website and The Houston Chronicle, too, for the full schedule once the final selections are confirmed. WorldFest hopes to have tantalized you with aromatic hints of these coming Independent cinematic offerings. The jury's final results will determine the final grand buffet of tasty international morsels. Your selections are guaranteed to be satisfying yet completely non-caloric. If something tasty in Independent and International cinema appeals to you, come enjoy the offerings at WorldFest this April 22nd through May 1st. See you at the movies!

WorldFest-Houston Film Festival
Team WorldFest
email: info@worldfest.org
phone: 713-965-9955

The 38th Annual WorldFest will offer 55 new intl Feature films and 100 award-winning shorts, plus six technical production seminars sponsored by Eastman Kodak and Hewlett Packard, plus an Awards Gala, Festival Regatta, VIP Tour of NASA and Texas BBQ. WorldFest is sponsored by The Houston Chronicle, HP, Kodak, CACHH, TCA, NEA, RM Crowe, The City of Houston, The State of Texas, The Houston Film Commission, The Houston Yacht Club, NASA, Space Center Houston, Wagner Media and AMC Theatres.

The feature film list is tentaive and subject to change. There will be changes due to print availability and screening conflicts. WorldFest makes every possible effort to keep to the final schedule, but there will always be some changes. The "Cut in Stone" program schedule will be posted on the web March 31st.
Most every short and feature film will be introduced by its director, writer, producer or representative. You can personally meet them at the Festival Club at The HQ hotel, the Renaissance Hotel in Greenway Plaza after the film each night. Details are on our website.